Julia Ingram
This year the St. Pat’s Board is doing something a little special with their famous St. Pat’s sweatshirts. The Board is working with the sorority Zeta Tau Alpha to raise money for their national philanthropy, Breast Cancer Education and Awareness, by creating special one-of-a-kind pink St. Pat’s sweatshirts. These new sweatshirts will have the regular 2019 sweatshirt design on the front of a pink-colored sweatshirt with a special logo on the back. A portion of the profits from the sweatshirts will go to the philanthropy to help millions of women and men affected by breast cancer.
Zeta Tau Alpha’s national philanthropy, Breast Cancer Education and Awareness, works through its partnership with the American Cancer Society®, a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer, and Bright Pink®, a national nonprofit organization focused on prevention and early detection of breast and ovarian cancer, to help promote and raise money to set the world free of breast cancer.
Breast cancer affects many, many lives. Nearly one in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. The American Cancer Society estimates that 268,600 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the year 2019. That is 2,480 more cases than the previous year. The American Cancer Society also estimates that about 41,760 women will die from breast cancer this year. Although the numbers look a little frightening, the death rates from female breast cancer dropped 40% from 1989 to 2016. Since there has been more research on finding a cure for breast cancer, more women have been able to beat breast cancer. Many survival stories have come from women who have detected breast cancer in its early stages.
The American Cancer Society states that “finding breast cancer early and getting state-of-the-art cancer treatment are the most important strategies to prevent deaths from breast cancer.” When any cancer is found early, and it is small enough that it has not spread, it is much easier to treat successfully. This is why it is so crucial to understand the importance of getting regular screening tests and examinations. The five-year survival rate for stage 0 breast cancer is nearly 93 percent, whereas the five-year survival rate after for stage 4 breast cancer is only 22 percent.
Both the American Cancer Society and Bright Pink have information on their websites about early detection and self-awareness tips. Bright Pink also offers a completely free Assess Your Risk questionnaire to help guide women to understand their personal risk level for breast and ovarian cancer and manage their health proactively. Bright Pink’s strategy is to focus on health, not cancer, to inspire women to practice prevention.
This year the St. Pat’s Board is showing their support of Breast Cancer Education and Awareness by selling this sweatshirt to everyone on campus. The Board is offering a Greek Community mark-up, and are also selling them at the Box out front of the Library every Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The sweatshirts are only available to order until February 15th. Be sure to order one soon before they are closed!
